“This is why the Iranian missiles didn’t damage the US base in Iraq . It’s the US anti missile batteries. Incredible to watch,” is a viral claim accompanying a video.

Several individuals shared the video with the same claim on Facebook.

A similar claim has also been used to circulate the video on Facebook and Whatsapp. It reads, “Iran fired 12 missiles at an American base in Iraq…old story. News report that – Iranian missiles missed. What is not talked about is the US automatic missile defense system that took almost all of them down. It’s a battery of 50 caliber guns that fires 3000 rounds per minute at the incoming missile(s). Here is a video of what happened.”

Alt News has received multiple requests on its official mobile application to fact-check the video.

Video game clip

Alt News used InVID to break the viral video into key-frames and perform a reverse-search of one of the frames on Google. We came across a video on YouTube uploaded on Jun 24, 2019 with the description “無人航空機 夜間射撃 フリゲート 搭載 ファランクス 撃墜 シウス ドローン CIWS Phalanx Drone UAV Frigate Night ARMA3 アーマ3 チャンネル登録をお願いします♪♪♪”

The Japanese text (この動画は 、フィクションです 。登場する人物・団体・名称等は架空であり 、実在のものとは関係ありません 。) at the end of the video translates to, “This video is fiction. Characters, groups, names, etc. are fictitious and have nothing to do with real things.”
The same video was earlier debunked by a AFP when it was viral with a Chinese text that reads in English as,  In “Breaking: Iran acting foolish again, suddenly launched rocket projectiles at the American base in Iraq! But were basically intercepted by antiaircraft fire, spectacular! Astonishing! Awesome, the United States!”

In an email conversation,  independent video games developer Bohemia Interactive, which also developed ARMA3, confirmed to AFP that the footage is from their game customised by players.

“We are sure that the YouTube video is from ARMA 3, made by one of our players. It should be noted that our ARMA games can be modified (adapted, NDLR) by their users and that people can create their own scenarios with the game editor. As such, what you are seeing in this video is not the ARMA 3 experience pattern, it seems to be a modified version of the game and a custom scenario made by players,” reads their statement.

Video viral since last year with multiple false claims

The video was viral last year with multiple false claims such as “Israeli anti-missile system” and “Russian anti-missile shooting down Israeli missile in Syria”.

In conclusion, a clip from a military-themed video game ARMA3 has been shared across social media platforms with the claim that it shows US anti-missile system bringing down rockets fired by Iran at US base in Iraq.

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About the Author

Co-founder, Alt News
Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via Twitter at https://twitter.com/zoo_bear